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Doritos chocolate truffles and bonbons

Anyone who’s known me long enough knows that my go to description for when I’m having a really bad breakout is that I feel like I’ve eaten or rubbed my face with deep fried chocolate covered Doritos. So when I used that in this post, I was a little surprised that most people’s reactions were

So I began wondering, How good could that flavor combination possibly be? Mike found a video for me with an Australian or New Zealand man who melted some Cadbury Dairy Milk on. his. tractor. dipped original flavor Doritos into them, and then let them cool in a cooler before eating them….all set to 90’s melodrama music. So I had evidence that this had been done before, but I thought incredulously, What does some tractor driving, chocolate melting Australian know about good food?

Um, apparently EVERYTHING!
I tried the exact chip and chocolate combination, and now I want to sit at the feet of this man and ask him to teach me the answer to life, the universe, and everything because I’m not entirely sure anymore that it’s 42.

Let’s make this more difficult, shall we?
So I couldn’t let it rest there. I needed to try and fancify this new culinary glory I had discovered. I decided to make a truffle and a bonbon. But first, I needed to decide which chocolate worked best with which chip.

I brought home original nacho cheese and sweet spicy chili Doritos and Cadbury Dairy Milk milk chocolate, semi-sweet, and bittersweet chocolate. I was excited about testing the spicy chili chips with the dark chocolate since spice goes so well in chocolate. (One of my favorite things to do is to add a bit of cinnamon and ground red pepper to a standard fudge recipe, just to give it a kick and depth of flavor.) I was pretty disappointed, though. I really didn’t feel like the chili chips stood up to the chocolate. There was an initial burst of flavor, and then it just disappeared and left behind burn. In the end, my favorite flavor combination was the Dairy Milk and nacho cheese. The two flavors just melted into each other so well, but without sacrificing crunch and a little spice.

Recipe and method
To make a truffle, you must first make ganache. It sounds horribly intimidating, but seriously, all ganache is is chocolate that has been melted by hot cream and then cooled.

1) Chop your chocolate
There are a couple ways to do this. You want to handle the chocolate as little as possible so it doesn’t melt on you. One way to achieve this is through what I’ll call the Alton Brown method. Take your knife and place it diagonally on the edge of your bar of chocolate. Use a rolling pin and hit the blade of your knife to cut the chocolate. This will allow you to chop your chocolate without the heat of your hand transferring through the blade to the chocolate. I’ve tried it before. It’s loud, time consuming, and I’m always afraid I’m going to break something. So I just chop the old fashioned way. Make sure you chop on the bias though, and in small increments. This will allow the chocolate to melt more easily when you pour the cream on it.

These were bigger chunks than I wanted, but it worked just fine.

Use a combination of the types of chocolate you like. I used what I had on hand, which was approximately 3 oz of Cadbury Dairy Milk, 8 oz Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate, and 5 oz Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate. (That’s a total of 16 oz for those who don’t want to do the math.) Place your chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Bring 1 cup heavy cream just to a boil, stirring to prevent scorching. Pour the heavy cream slowly and evenly over the chocolate. Let mixture sit for approximately 20 seconds, then whisk together until you achieve a thick and creamy consistency.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least one hour. The ganache should be firm, but not hard. (Like the consistency of fudge.) If it’s too hard, just let it sit at room temperature for a couple of minutes. If it’s not firm enough yet, you’ve done something horribly wrong and it’s all fucking ruined! Just kidding. Just stick it back in the fridge to firm up more. Also, if you find you need to stop production to go get your child’s favorite blanket and Minnie Mouse, place the ganache back in the fridge until you’re ready to start again.

Experimentation that won’t get you arrested or pregnant!
I was concerned that once I tried to use the Doritos in a candy like a truffle, it would get soggy and limp. (That’s what she said!) So I decided to try several different applications. First, I tried a straight forward “traditional” truffle method. Often times, you will find truffles as ganache that have been rolled in cocoa powder. So into the food processor the Doritos went.Wheeeeeeeeeee!

Process the chips until they are fine and uniform. They will not be as fine as cocoa powder. Place the chip crumbs in a shallow dish. Use a melon baller to scoop the ganache. As quickly as possible with your fingers, form the ganache into a ball. (It doesn’t have to be perfect.) Drop the ball into the chip crumbs and quickly roll the ball in the crumbs, lightly shaping into a ball as you roll. Roll until you achieve an even coating. Place truffle on a sheet pan that has been lined with parchment paper or into a silicone mini muffin pan. Place truffles uncovered in the fridge or covered with plastic wrap in the freezer. Once the truffles have set, (about 30 minutes) place them in a air tight container or plastic bag. Keep refrigerated for storage, but serve close to or at room temperature.

The next truffle method is similar, but with an extra step and larger shards of chip. For these, place chips in a heavy duty plastic bag. Grab your favorite rolling pin, think about something that has pissed you off recently, and go to town.

Make your truffle like before and toss it around in the larger crumbs.

I in no way said “wheeeeee” in my head as I tossed these around. But you may, if you like.

Melt tempered chocolate wafers according to package directions, taking care not to over melt so you don’t scorch the chocolate. You can find these tempered chocolate wafers wherever baking and candy supplies are sold. Wilton, for example, makes them. For this recipe, I used dark chocolate made by Merckens. I still can’t look at the label without snickering because, apparently, I’m 12. Place your rolled truffle into the melted tempered chocolate. Use a fork to cover the truffle with chocolate. Gently situate your fork under the truffle. This will help slough off the extra chocolate and achieve relatively smooth coverage. As you lift the truffle out of the bowl, scrape the bottom of your fork to remove excess chocolate.

Place truffle on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Gently wiggle your fork out from under the truffle. Place in fridge to set and store.

Bon Bon booooooooooooon
The final candy I made was a bonbon-ish. You’ll need a bonbon candy mold, (I used a Wilton) and a small food grade decorating brush, (they’ll probably be sold with the candy molds and other decorating products.) Fill the bottom of your candy mold with your tempered chocolate about 1/3 of the way. (I used a icing bag and small decorating tip.) Tap mold lightly on the counter to release air bubbles. Use the brush to paint the chocolate up on the sides. (Work quickly. Tempered chocolate sets fast.) Place mold in the fridge to let the chocolate set, about 15 minutes. It can certainly stay in the fridge longer if you have other things to do. For one set of bonbons, I placed only crushed Doritos inside. For the others, I mixed a small amount of ganache with crushed Doritos. Don’t be afraid to get a bit intimate with that bonbon; just squish that mixture in there and pat it flat.

Cover the bonbons with more tempered chocolate. (If the chocolate in your pastry bag has hardened, place bag and tip in a cup of hot water until chocolate will flow again.) Use a knife or small spatula to gently remove excess chocolate. Place mold back in the fridge to let the bonbons set, about 10 minutes. To remove candies, carefully turn mold out over the counter or cutting board. You may use a sharp knife to trim excess chocolate.

The verdict

The perfect fall snack for the non health conscious!

I was pretty pleased with the way all the candies turned out. The chips seemed to keep their crunch and added just a bit of spice to the chocolate. The chocolate covered truffles had the least amount of chocolate/chip contrast. The dust covered truffles had just a bit more crunch and chip distinction. But if you really want a lot of crunch, the bonbon is the way to go. Of course, if you don’t want to go to all the trouble and mess, (seriously, wear an apron or at least not your favorite white tank top *sigh*) there’s always the tried and true dip and crunch method. Tractor not required.